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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. drill — a practice
  3. game — wild animals
  4. land — to come down
  5. game — a match
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. field — for sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. cell — a phone
  12. drill — army training
  13. field — farmland
  14. cell — in biology
  15. field — a subject
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. can — a tin
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cue — for pool
  21. can — to be able to
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com